Few questions about Macbook Air 13" 2012

[Chic0]

I've been waiting on the rMBP for nearly a year. I even placed an order last week for one, but then cancelled it, partly due to the high price.

I have now decided on getting the new MBA 13" 2ghz / 8gb RAM / 256GB . I just had a few questions.

I am coming from a late 2008 MBP 2.53 core2duo. My machine gets extremely hot, especially when playing flash based browser games like miniclip pool. What is the new i7 MBA like for heat?

I have also seen a few things around the web about poor wifi performance on the MBA. Is this true or are these just isolated incidents? I will be connecting to a dual band AEBS.

Coming from a 15" MBP, I was a bit apprehensive about going down to a 13". I am not a professional, so don't need the extra spacE - It's just that I am used to it. Has anybody else gone from 15" to 13" screen? Do you miss the larger screen?

What real world battery life are people seeing? My MBP battery has seen better days.

What courier do Apple use in UK? Still UPS?

Thanks

 

[hisboyelroy]

Coming from a 15" MBP, I was a bit apprehensive about going down to a 13". I am not a professional, so don't need the extra spacE - It's just that I am used to it. Has anybody else gone from 15" to 13" screen? Do you miss the larger screen?

As I have the 2011 version of the 13" MBA, this is the only aspect of your post I can address. And, after going through exactly what you are (moving from a 15" to a 13") I can say that, while I obviously could perceive a difference, it isn't anything that has ever hindered my experience. Because it is a notebook, you usually have fairly close viewing and you can see everything and do everything with the 13" you could with the 15" without noticing any real issue at all. I predict that, within a day, you will be so giddy over the new found portability and lightness of this machine that you will see the 15" and wonder what you were ever thinking. It will look like a dinosaur. Kind of like your cell phone from the mid 1990's, assuming you are old enough to remember those.

As a point of reference, I only use my 13" for some pro stuff, mainly editing my photos in Aperture and Elements, or a few MS Office apps when on the road and it works just fine. Of course, it isn't at all like working on a 27" iMac where there is certainly a real and perceivable difference, but we are talking much different systems/sizes. The benefit in portability and ease you will experience moving from a 15" MBP to a 13" MBA will completely outweigh any concerns you ever thought about having.

I'll let others who actually have the 2012 version of the 13" MBA weigh in on your other concerns.

 

[Chic0]

hehe.....oh I remember the first mobile phones alright. Ease of portability was certainly not the selling point

Thanks for the info. You're probably right in that over time, I probably wont notice the smaller screen size that much. To be honest, when I went into a Mac reseller a couple of weeks ago, I was actually quite surprised how large the screen on the 13" MBA actually is. Took me back a bit to the days when I had my first mac - a 12" Powerbook. Really wish I hadn't sold that thing.

Be interesting to see what others have to say.......

 

[robvas]

Only part of mine that gets hot is the area above the keyboard.

 

[anandy]

I have the 2012 13" i7/8GB/256 GB model. Battery life is pretty good but depends on what you're doing.

I took four hours of notes on it while wireless was shut off and there was 70% left at that point. So for this type of use, I could probably get 10+ hours although I haven't verified this.

For more intensive usages, I seem to get 5+ hours but haven't really measured.

It doesn't get too hot. It can get warm but it isn't scalding like a Dell laptop I used to have. When it warms up there can be some fan noise but it's not too bad.

Wireless seems fine from to me.

 

[Chic0]

That real world battery life sounds great.

as for the heat, my MBP gets hots even when it's not doing much at all. Earlier on it stupidly hot whilst charging, downloading something, 3 browser tabs open, Reader open and playing a flash game.